sunday, october 24, 1999
Inexpensive Web cameras I bringing world on line
bob schwabach
universal press syndicate
More than a million Web cameras will be sold this holiday shopping season. What will people do with them? think we're Well, I think're about to see the world online.
Good Web cameras can now be purchased for less the $50. Heck, in some places they're giving them away. I recently got am e-mail offer for two free ones if I would would open an online brokerage account . I can see this thing becoming a gas-station premium for filling your tank, the way cell phones were, few years ago.
This started out as video-conferencing for businesses Recently, it has extended to chats with family and friends. Now it's going to be a way to keep track of what's happening anywhere, or not happening as the case may be.
Everything is going to come under surveillance. You can already tune in to people's offices, living rooms, bedrooms, driveways and student-lounge coffee I machines. You can watch Finnish border check points, Australian beaches, turtle farms, resort hotels, African watering holes, hospital emergency rooms, child-care centers and on into the night.
Kensington Technology and Logitech both have new cameras that sell for under $50; I've tried them, and they work well. Creative Labs' popular camera is only slightly more than that. As you go in price, you go tend to get higher re resolution, variable focus, and sensitivity to low light; $150 to $200 typically gets you the top of the line.
Most new cameras have USB (universal serial bus) connections, so they can be used with either Windows 98 or the latest Macintosh computers. USB also means a simple plug-and-play situation: Just plug it in and load the software. Devices can be plugged and unplugged while the computer is running, a risky practice with other her connectors.
In the works, meaning still in beta testing, is software from Vista Imaging and 3Com, which will let you coordinate 16 Web cameras at once, being able to view 10 of them on screen at the same time. You can find omfpr,atopm format information on this from their Web sites as it www.vistaimaging.com and www.3com.com.
Most of these cameras are the size of a tennis all. Some allow you to take snapshots with the push of a button. Cameras designed for surveillance are often smaller and can be mounted so only a hole the size of a pinhead is showing. You'll never know when you're being watched or who is doing the watching.
Software can be set to take snapshots at defined in intervals - every minute or two is common - or they can record full-motion. The problem with full-motion video is that it takes up a huge an amount of space in the computer and online when you want to transmit the images. As optical cables and other fast lines are installed, however, this will become commonplace.
Most Web-cam software can also detect motion. The camera is on and viewing, but transmits nothing until a change takes place. The software compares each image with the previous image - every few seconds, for example - and if they don't match, it takes a snapshot and sends it or stores it.
The new Kensington camera with USB connections is the latest I've seen and the only one that has a built-in mount for a tripod. For $50 it's a very good deal al. It comes with Microsoft Net Meeting and CUSeeMe, the video conferencing soft ware developed at Cornell University (that's what the "CU" in the title stands for). The company also maintains the Digital Fridge Web site - www.thedigitalfridge.com where you can post snapshots and full motion video for friends and colleagues to see.
The full line of Kensington Web cams lists for $50 to $129. Phone info: 800-280-8318 or 650-572-2700; fax: 650-572-9675; www.kensington.com.
NOTE: Some words of warning if you surf the Web-cam sites. Many sites show sexually explicit material. My experience has been that most do not, but I think you should know this in advance and be careful with children or anyone who is sensitive and impressionable. Second warning: Cameras are frequently not opcrating or are off-line.
The village videot
www.yahoo.com The leading Web search engine is a good place to start when you're looking for Webcam sites. Just type "web cams" in the search field and away you go.
www.eartheam.com www.earthcam.com is one of the best of the Web-cam sites. Lots of links here, to city views, traffic cams, sports, people, news, weather, etc.
www.zdnet.com has Web-cam shows, interviews, etc.
www.coolbase.com Pick a place and a subject and the site steers you to an appropriate camera.
Write to Bob Schwabach at 332
Promontory Drive West, Newport Beach,
CA 92660. Or via e-mail at
bobschwab@aol.com or
bobschwab@orcomp.com. Previous
columns and other information are
available at his Web site:
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